Uber, Bolt drivers protest killings by passengers, 24 August 2021

Drivers under the National Coalition of Ride-Sharing Partners (NACORP) have protested the murder of some of their colleagues by yet-to-be-identified criminals who pose as passengers.

The protest...had cab drivers who were members of the coalition, sharing unpleasant experiences in the hands of passengers and calling for their profiling by e-hailing companies.

...the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Coalition Emeka Emerole said the details of the passengers could remain private, but urged the companies to keep their records.

“What we are here for is very simple. What we need is: profile the riders. We’re not asking you to show us their faces. Keep the face, keep the BVN, keep the NIN with you, but let the person know that when something happens, he can be traced,” he said.

Some of the protesters said about four drivers had been killed by riders in the past three months while others had suffered varying degrees of harassment...

A...driver...also called on the authorities to introduce life insurance schemes that would cater to the families of deceased cab drivers in the events of death...

In September 2020, the drivers had held a protest demanding the profiling of passengers by the companies. Some of the e-hailing organisations have argued that certain measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of both drivers and riders.

...Bolt had told The ICIR that the drivers were encouraged to report misconducts by passengers as a means of monitoring them.

“In relation to riders, our feedback loop goes both ways, and we encourage drivers to rate riders as well and report any misconducts. This two-way feedback is used to administer the platform and provide a safe space for both drivers and passengers,” Bolt said.